JPH0774743A - Inter-multi-spot connection method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simplify the processing and operation attended with a connection revision of a terminal equipment and to attain the connection revision by general-purpose connection processing by managing the connection state between other terminal equipments for each terminal equipment and attaining connection processing corresponding to a change in the connection state CONSTITUTION:In the inter-multi-spot connection method interconnecting plural terminal equipments in the distributed connection state, an identifier as to an already connected terminal equipment, a terminal equipment to be connected, and an interrupted terminal equipment is registered to each terminal equipment depending on the connection state such as connected, addition and interrupt and number of connected terminal equipments are registered in a connection terminal equipment management table. Each terminal equipment manages the connection state with other terminal equipments corresponding to the management table and makes connection processing with other terminal equipments corresponding to the change in the connection state. Thus, the processing and operation in each terminal equipment are simplified when a new terminal equipment is participated or an existing terminal equipment is released.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a multipoint connection method for connecting information processing devices (terminals) arranged at multiple points.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, with the progress of networks and the decentralization of companies and organizations,
The so-called CSCW (Computer Supported Coo), which collaborates while sharing information of each computer
The need for a perative work system is increasing. The distributed presence conference system described in Documents 1 and 2 below is CS
It is an example of a CW system.

Reference 1: “Shiro Sakata:“ Distributed Conference System ”, Journal of Television Society, Vol. 45, No. 8, pp. 926.
-930, 1991] Reference 2 “Shiro Sakata:“ Multimedia distributed presence conference system “MERMAID” ”, latest technology report of groupware, Soft Research Center, pp7.21-7.2
9, 1989] In this CSCW system, a plurality of workstations and personal computers are connected. The main connection form is the centralized type (star type) shown in FIG.
And the distributed type (mesh type) shown in FIG.

In the centralized connection form, a plurality of terminals 2a, 2b, 2 are connected via one multipoint communication connection unit (MCU) 1.
This is a form in which c and 2d are connected. Each terminal 2a, 2b, 2
c and 2d transmit data to the MCU 1, and the MCU 1 collectively delivers the data received from the terminals 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d to all the terminals 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d. In this centralized connection mode, the load of data transmission is concentrated in the MCU 1, and therefore the MCU 1 with high processing capability is required.

In the distributed connection mode, each terminal 2i (i is a ...
d) is directly connected to the partner terminal 2j, 2k, 2l (j, k, l is i
Each terminal 2i delivers data to all the other terminals 2j, 2k, 2l. In this distributed connection mode, the load is distributed to each terminal 2i,
No MCU required.

[0006]

As described above, the distributed connection form has an advantage over the centralized connection form that an MCU is not required, while each terminal 2i (i is a to d).
Is directly connected to the other terminal 2j, 2k, 2l (j, k, l are different from i), and therefore has the following disadvantages.

That is, in the distributed connection form, as shown in FIG. 4, a group of terminals 2 already connected to multiple points.
When a new terminal 2d is connected to a, 2b and 2c from the middle, all terminals 2a, 2 already connected to the multipoint are connected.
It is necessary to establish a plurality of lines 3a, 3b and 3c connecting each of b and 2c with the new terminal 2d. In particular,
If many terminals are already connected, the number of lines that need to be newly established is very large. Conventionally, such a plurality of lines have been individually established according to an instruction from a user.

Therefore, there is a problem that the user has to instruct and operate all the line establishments when participating halfway. In some cases, one-to-one communication is performed, but when joining halfway, different operations must be performed due to differences in the number of established lines and the like when one-to-one connection is made. Furthermore, different connection processing is performed at the time of connection at the request from the own terminal and at the time of connection at the request from another terminal, which complicates the device configuration of the terminal.

[0009] Such a problem occurs not only when a new terminal joins on the way, but also when it leaves.

As described above, since the conventional multipoint connection method does not have a peculiar structure in consideration of leaving and joining halfway, the above-mentioned various problems are caused. Improvements are required in terms of user operation and unified connection processing, considering exit and participation on the way.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and simplifies the processing and user operation at each terminal when the terminal in the connected state is changed (participation, leaving). At the same time, the present invention is intended to provide a multipoint connection method capable of executing connection change by general-purpose connection processing regardless of the connection request source.

[0012]

According to the present invention of claim 1, in a multipoint connection method for connecting a plurality of terminals in a distributed connection mode, each terminal manages a connection state with another terminal. It is characterized in that a connection process corresponding to the changed connection state is performed with respect to another terminal whose managed connection state has changed.

According to the present invention of claim 2, in the present invention of claim 1, each terminal is provided with an identifier of a terminal which is already connected, a terminal which is going to make an additional connection, and a terminal which is going to leave the connection. , Those "connect", "add",
In addition to registering in association with the connection status of "exit",
It is characterized in that it is provided with a connection terminal management storage unit that registers the number of terminals connected at that time, and the connection state with other terminals is managed by this connection terminal management storage unit.

According to the present invention of claim 3, in the multipoint connection method according to claim 2, when each terminal designates a terminal of a connection partner by the input device of its own terminal, the identifier of the designated terminal is connected. Register in the terminal management storage unit in the "addition" state, send a connection request to the relevant terminal due to registration change in the "addition" state, and when the line is connected to the relevant terminal, the "addition" state is set to " If there is a terminal identifier in the "connected" state that is not registered in the connected terminal management storage of the own terminal while changing to the "connected" state and referring to the connected terminal management storage of the connected other terminal, all of them Is registered in the connected terminal management storage unit of the own terminal in the "added" state, and the connection request is transmitted to each corresponding terminal according to the registration change in the "added" state.

According to the present invention of claim 4, in the multipoint connection method according to claim 2 or 3, when each terminal receives a connection request from another terminal, a line is established with the terminal issuing the connection request. , The connected terminal is registered in the connected terminal management storage unit in the "connected" state, and when the line is connected to the corresponding terminal, the connected terminal management storage unit of the connected partner terminal is referred to If there is a terminal identifier in the "connected" state that is not registered in the connected terminal management storage unit, register all the terminal identifiers in the "added" state in the connected terminal management storage unit of the own terminal, and then add the "added" state. It is characterized in that the connection request is transmitted to each of the corresponding terminals according to the change in the registration.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the multipoint-to-point connection method according to any one of the second to fourth aspects, when each terminal is instructed to end communication by an input device of its own terminal, a connected terminal management storage section is provided. A termination signal is transmitted to all the terminals in which the identifiers are stored, and the lines with all the terminals are terminated.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the multipoint connection method according to any one of the second to fifth aspects, when each terminal receives an end signal from another terminal, the connection terminal management storage unit of the own terminal stores it. Change the connection status of the relevant terminal to "Exit" and "Exit"
The line with the corresponding terminal is terminated due to the change in registration to the state, and the number of connected terminals is checked after deleting the terminated terminal from the connected terminal management storage unit. When the number of connected terminals is greater than 1, the connected terminal management storage is performed. It is characterized in that the communication with the remaining terminals registered in the department is continued and the communication is terminated when the value is 0.

[0018]

According to the present invention of claim 1, each terminal manages the connection status such as "connection", "addition", and "exit" with other terminals, so that the connection status under management is changed. Irrespective of whether the instructions given by the user are given from the input device or from another terminal, whether it is a change due to mid-game participation or exit 1
Regardless of the change in the connection state due to the one-to-one connection or the termination of the communication, the connection processing corresponding to the changed connection state can be performed for the changed terminal.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in order to make it very easy to manage the connection status with other terminals, the management of the connection status with other terminals performed by each terminal is performed. , The identifiers of the terminal that is going to make an additional connection and the terminal that is going to leave the connection are registered in association with the connection states of “connection”, “addition”, and “exit”, and at that time The number of connected terminals is registered in the connected terminal management storage unit.

According to the present invention of claim 3, the connection can be activated by the same processing regardless of whether the instruction of the terminal of the connection partner is one-to-one connection or halfway participation (it cannot be distinguished as a terminal). As described above, when each terminal designates the terminal of the connection partner by the input device of its own terminal, the identifier of the designated terminal is registered in the connected terminal management storage unit in the “addition” state,
Due to the change in registration in the "added" state, a connection request is sent to the corresponding terminal, and when the line is connected to the terminal, the "added" state is changed to the "connected" state. Also,
According to the present invention of claim 3, when a line is connected to a certain terminal, connection can be made so that if one terminal is pointed to, all terminals that are being connected at that time can be connected even at the time of late participation. If there is a terminal identifier in the "connected" state that is not registered in the connected terminal management memory of the own terminal by referring to the connected terminal management memory of the partner terminal, all of the terminal identifiers are automatically added in the "added" state. The connection request is transmitted to each corresponding terminal by registering in the connection terminal management storage unit of the terminal and the registration change in the “addition” state.

According to the present invention of claim 4, another terminal makes a connection request for late participation, or another terminal requests a late participation and makes a connection request, or a connection request for one-to-one connection. Regardless of whether or not (a terminal is indistinguishable), when a connection request is received from another terminal so that the same process can be performed, the line with the terminal that issued the connection request is established, and the terminal of the connection partner is set. Register in the connected terminal management storage unit in the "connected" state. Further, according to the present invention of claim 4, the partner terminal which has requested the late participation so that even if another terminal requests the late participation, the connection with all the terminals at that time can be automatically made. "Connect" that is not registered in the connected terminal management memory of the own terminal by referring to the connected terminal management memory of
If there is a terminal identifier in the state, all the terminal identifiers are registered in the connected terminal management storage unit of the own terminal in the “added” state, and a connection request is made to each corresponding terminal due to the registration change in the “added” state. Decided to send.

According to the present invention of claim 5, each terminal is an input device of its own terminal so that it can be ended by the same operation and processing as the one-to-one end command even when leaving midway (it cannot be distinguished as a terminal). When the end of communication is instructed by, the end signal is transmitted to all terminals whose identifiers are stored in the connected terminal management storage unit, and the lines with all terminals are terminated. If there is no connected terminal management storage, it was necessary to input the terminal to terminate the line one by one from the user,
It is unnecessary in the present invention of claim 5.

According to the present invention of claim 6, the same operation and processing can be performed when another terminal desires to leave the way or one-to-one termination (it cannot be distinguished as a terminal). ), When each terminal receives an end signal from another terminal, it changes the connection status of the corresponding terminal in the connected terminal management storage unit of its own terminal to “exit”, and the registration change to the “exit” status causes the corresponding terminal to change. End the line with. Also, it is better to terminate the communication if there is no other connected terminal.When the termination signal is received from the other terminal and the line with the relevant terminal is terminated, the termination terminal is connected to the terminal management memory. After deleting from the copy, the number of connected terminals is checked, and when the number of connected terminals is greater than 1, communication with the remaining terminals registered in the connected terminal management storage unit is continued, and when it is 0, the communication is terminated. .

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a multipoint connection method according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. Here, in FIG.
6 is a flowchart showing a connection procedure in each terminal of this embodiment, and FIG. 5 shows a configuration of a connection terminal management table managed by each terminal of this embodiment.

(A) Connected Terminal Management Table In this embodiment, each terminal manages the connected terminal management table 4 shown in FIG. This connection management table 4
Is a registration area 41 for the number of terminals in a connected state, registration areas 421, 422, 423 for a plurality of terminal IDs, and registration areas 421, 422 for a connected state with the terminals registered in the terminal ID registration area. 423 ... Here, the terminal ID is an identifier that can identify the partner terminal, and is, for example, a telephone number of a telephone or an IP address of a workstation. The connection state is a state of whether it is a terminal currently connected, a terminal to be connected from now, or a terminal to be terminated,
It is represented by three states of "connection", "addition", and "exit".

(B) Connection processing of each terminal Next, the connection terminal management table 4 having such a configuration
A connection process in each terminal, which is performed by using, will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1, in the connection terminal management table initial setting step 101, the connection terminal management table is initialized in all terminals that can be constituent elements of the multipoint communication system. That is, the number of connected terminals is set to 0, and all the storage areas of the terminal ID and the connection state are cleared.

In the connection partner input detection step 102, it is judged whether or not there is an input of the partner's terminal ID in order to establish a line from an input device such as a keyboard or a mouse in the own terminal. If there is an input, the process proceeds to the input partner addition step 103, and if there is no input, the process proceeds to the connection request reception detection step 104. This input method is the same regardless of whether it is for late participation, for one-to-one connection, or for requesting late participation, and cannot be distinguished from the terminal.

In the input partner addition step 103, the terminal ID of the input partner is registered in the connection terminal management table,
The connection state with the terminal is set to "addition", and the process proceeds to the connection state detection step 109.

In the connection request reception detection step 104 which is advanced when there is no input from the connection partner, it is determined whether or not a connection request signal from another terminal is received. When the connection request is received, the process goes to the line establishing step 105 to establish a line with the partner, and further goes to the table updating step 106 to update the connected terminal management table. This connection request signal is 1 even if another terminal sends it for late participation.
The same signal is used when transmitting for a one-to-one connection and for requesting a late participation, and these cases cannot be distinguished from the connection request signal.

In the table updating step 106, the connection request transmitting step 110 to the line establishing step 10 which will be described later are performed.
It may progress through 5.

The processing contents of the table updating step 106 differ depending on the contents of the connection terminal management table in which the line establishment in the line establishment step 105 was executed.
If the ID of the terminal with which the line has been established is not registered, the ID of the partner terminal with which the line has been established is registered in the "connected" state, and the number of connected terminals is incremented by one. If it has already been registered in the "added" state, the state is changed to "connected" and the number of connected terminals is incremented by one. After performing the processing in any of the above cases, the connection terminal management table of the partner terminal with which the line is established is further referred to, and the terminal ID not registered in the own terminal is registered in the “addition” state. By this registration, a connection request can be sent to those terminals later and the line can be established.

If it is determined in the connection request reception detection step 104 that there is no connection request, the process proceeds to the end signal reception detection step 107. In the end signal reception detection step 107, it is determined whether or not an end signal has been received from another connected terminal. Note that this end signal is the same signal when it is sent by another terminal for leaving midway and when it is sent to end the one-to-one connection, and these cases cannot be distinguished from the end signal. . If the end signal has not been received, the process proceeds to the connection state detection step 109. When it is received, the process proceeds to the table exit step 108, the connection state of the corresponding terminal ID in the connection terminal management table is changed to "exit", and the process proceeds to the connection state detection step 109.

In the connection state detection step 109, the connection terminal management table is checked to check whether it is in the "addition" state or "exit".
To detect the terminal in the state. By the determination in step 109,
When the terminal in the "added" state is detected, the process proceeds to the connection request transmitting step 110 to transmit the connection request signal to the terminal and establish the line with the terminal. Also, step 109
When the terminal in the "exit" state is detected by the determination of, the line ending step 111 is proceeded to, and the line with the terminal is disconnected. Further, if it is determined in step 109 that all connected terminals are in the “connected” state, the end signal input detection step 11
Go to 4.

In the connection request transmitting step 110, a connection request is transmitted to the terminal in the "addition" state detected in the connection state detecting step 109, and the process proceeds to the line establishing step 105 to establish the line.

In the line termination step 111, the line with the terminal in the "exit" state detected in the connection state detection step 109 is disconnected and the process proceeds to the table deletion step 112. In the table deletion step 112, the terminal ID of the disconnected line is deleted from the connected terminal management table, the number of connected terminals is decremented by 1, and the process proceeds to the connected terminal number checking step 113. In the connected terminal number check step 113, the number of connected terminals in the connected terminal management table is checked, and if it is greater than 0, the process proceeds to the connection state detection step 109 again. If it is 0, there is no connected terminal. To finish.

In the end signal input detecting step 114, it is judged whether or not the end signal is inputted from the input device such as the keyboard of the own terminal, and if so, the process proceeds to the end signal transmitting step 116 to end the communication thereafter. Perform processing.
If it has not been input, the process proceeds to a communication step 115 to perform communication.

In communication step 115, data is repeatedly transmitted and received to and from the connected terminal. During communication,
When a signal for controlling the connection state is received from the input device of the own terminal or the partner terminal, steps 102 to 11
The series of input signals up to 4 and the received signal are processed, and after the processing is completed, the communication is restarted.

In the end signal transmitting step 116, a signal indicating that the own terminal is terminated is transmitted to all connected terminals. In the line terminating step 117, the lines with all connected terminals are disconnected and the communication is terminated.

The above is the contents of the connection processing in each terminal performed using the connection terminal management table 4. As described above, various connection processes can be dealt with by one connection procedure shown in FIG. 1 without preparing individual connection processing for initial connection, late participation, midway exit, etc. .

The subject of execution of the processing procedure shown in FIG. 1 is C.
It may be a PU, or a part or all of the step processing may be executed by dedicated hardware for the step. In this sense, FIG. 1 can be regarded as showing the functional configuration of the terminal relating to the connection process.

(C) One-to-one connection process Hereinafter, the change of the connection terminal management table and the flow of the connection procedure will be described for each connection process with a specific example. In the connection terminal management tables shown in FIGS. 6 to 9 used in the following description, the terminal ID is represented by a terminal name, and “connection”, “addition”,
The three connection statuses of "Exit" are "○",
It is represented by "+" and "-".

First, the one-to-one connection process will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 6A, there are terminals A and B whose connection management table is initially set in step 101.

Here, as shown in FIG. 6B, the terminal A
When the user inputs to connect with terminal B (I),
In the terminal A, the terminal B is registered in the connection management table in the "added" state (II; steps 102-103). further,
The terminal A detects the terminal B in the "added" state and transmits a connection request to the terminal B (III; steps 109-110). As a result, as shown in FIG. 6C, a line is established between both terminals A and B (IV; step 105 for terminal A, steps 104-105 for terminal B), and the connection terminals of both terminals A and B. The management table is updated to register each other's terminal IDs in the “connected” state, and the number of connected terminals is 1 for both terminals A and B.
(V; step A for terminal A, step 106 for terminal B).

In the update of the connected terminal management table at this time, since the terminal B has already registered the terminal B in the "added" state, the state is changed to "connected" and the number of connected terminals is only 1. On the other hand, in the terminal B, since the terminal A is not registered, the ID of the partner terminal A that has established the line is registered in the “connected” state, and the number of connected terminals is increased by one. Further, even if the connected terminal management table of the partner terminal A or B with which the line has been established is referred to, there is no terminal ID that is not registered in the own terminal, so there is no registration in the "added" state.

As described above, the one-to-one correspondence between the terminals A and B
Connection is completed, and unless a signal for changing the connection state is generated, steps 102-104-107-114-
Communication is executed by repeating the loop of 115.

(D) Connection process for late participation Next, the connection process for late participation will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Here, it is assumed that another terminal C joins midway while the two terminals A and B are connected.

First, when the connection terminal management table of the terminal C to be added is in the initial state (step 101), as shown in FIG. 7A, the user of the terminal C is connecting the terminal A or B. Terminal I of one of them (herein referred to as terminal A)
When D is input (I), terminal A is registered in the connection terminal management table of terminal C in the "added" state (II; step 1).
03). Further, the terminal C detects the terminal in the "added" state and sends a connection request to the terminal A (III; step 10).
9-110).

As a result, as shown in FIG. 7B, a line is established between both terminals C and A (IV; step C for terminal C, steps 104-105 for terminal A), and both terminals C and A. The connected terminal management table is updated so that the terminal IDs of the terminals are registered in the “connected” state, and the number of connected terminals is set to 1 and 2 for each of the terminals C and A (V; step 106 for terminal C, terminal A for terminal C). Step 106).

In the update of the connected terminal management table at this time, since the terminal A has already registered the terminal A in the "added" state, the state is changed to "connected" and the number of connected terminals is set to 1. On the other hand, in the terminal A, since the terminal C is not registered, the ID of the partner terminal C that has established the line is set to “connect”.
Register in the state and change the number of connected terminals from 1 to 2.

Since the terminal B, which does not exist in the connection terminal management table of the terminal C, is registered in the connection terminal management table of the terminal A with which the line is established, the terminal C identifies the terminal ID of the terminal B. Register in the connection terminal management table in the "added" state. On the other hand, in the terminal A, nothing is registered in the “added” state in the connected terminal management table.

By registering the terminal B in the "added" state, the terminal C transmits a connection request to the terminal B (VI;
Steps 109-110), as shown in FIG.
A line is established between terminals C and B (VII; step C for terminal C, steps 104-105 for terminal B),
The connected terminal management table of both terminals C and B is updated to register the terminal IDs of each other in the “connected” state, and the number of connected terminals is 2 for each terminal C and B (VIII; step 106 at terminal C, terminal In B, step 106).

At this time, even if the connected terminal management table of the partner terminal B or C with which the line is established is referred to, there is no terminal ID not registered in the own terminal, so "addition" is performed.
There is no registration in the state and the additional connection process is completed.

When the mesh-shaped connection of the terminals A, B and C is completed as described above, unless a signal for changing the connection state is generated, steps 102-104-10.
The loop of 7-114-115 is repeated to execute communication with other terminals.

(E) Connection process for midway exit (disconnection process) Next, the process for midway exit will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Here, it is assumed that the terminal B leaves midway when the three terminals A, B, and C are connected in a mesh.

As shown in FIG. 8A, when the user of the terminal B inputs an end signal (I; affirmative result in step 114), the end signal is transmitted to all the connected terminals A and C (step S114). II; Step 115).

Upon receiving the end signal, the terminal A or C updates the connection terminal management table and sets the connection status of the terminal B to "exit"(III; both terminals A and C are step 1).
17-118). Next, in each of the terminals A and C, FIG.
, The terminal B in the "exit" state is detected, the line is disconnected (IV; steps 109-111), the terminal B is deleted from the connected terminal management table, and the number of connected terminals is also reduced from 2 to 1 (V; step 112). In the terminal B, the line is terminated by disconnecting the line and the exit on the way is completed (VI; step 117).

Since the number of connected terminals is not 0 in each of the terminals A and C that have performed the exit processing of the terminal B, the communication with the remaining terminals continues.

Further, since the termination process from 1: 1 is the same as the process of leaving midway, the description thereof will be omitted.

(F) Connection process for late participation request Next, the connection process for the late participation request will be described in detail with reference to FIG. Here, it is assumed that the terminal A requests the terminal C to join halfway while the two terminals A and B are connected.

First, when the connection terminal management table of the added terminal C is in the initial state (step 101), as shown in FIG. 9A, the user of terminal A requests terminal C to join halfway. (I), the terminal C is registered in the connection terminal management table of the terminal A in the "added" state (II; step 103). Further, the terminal A detects the terminal in the "addition" state and transmits a connection request to the terminal C (III; steps 109-110).

As a result, as shown in FIG. 9B, a line is established between both terminals A and C (IV; step A for terminal A, step 104-105 for terminal C), and both terminals A and C. The connected terminal management table is updated so that the terminal IDs of the terminals are registered in the “connected” state, and the number of connected terminals is set to 2 and 1 for each terminal A and C (V; step 106 for terminal A and terminal C as well). Step 106).

In the update of the connection terminal management table at this time, since the terminal C has already registered the terminal C in the "added" state, the state is changed to "connected" and the number of connected terminals is set to 2. On the other hand, in the terminal C, since the terminal A is not registered, the ID of the partner terminal A that has established the line is set to “connect”.
Register in the state and change the number of connected terminals from 0 to 1.

Since the terminal B, which does not exist in the connection terminal management table of the terminal C, is registered in the connection terminal management table of the terminal A with which the line is established, the terminal C determines the terminal ID of the terminal B. Register in the connection terminal management table in the "added" state. On the other hand, in the terminal A, nothing is registered in the “added” state in the connected terminal management table.

By registering the terminal B in the "added" state, the terminal C transmits a connection request to the terminal B (VI;
Steps 109-110), as shown in FIG.
A line is established between terminals C and B (VII; step C for terminal C, steps 104-105 for terminal B),
The connected terminal management table of both terminals C and B is updated to register the terminal IDs of each other in the “connected” state, and the number of connected terminals is 2 for each terminal C and B (VIII; step 106 at terminal C, terminal In B, step 106).

At this time, even if the connected terminal management table of the partner terminal B or C with which the line is established is referred to, there is no terminal ID not registered in the own terminal, so "addition" is performed.
There is no registration in the state and the additional connection process is completed.

As described above, the terminal C with respect to the terminal A
When the mesh-like connection of the terminals A, B, and C is completed by the series of processing started by the input of the halfway participation request to the terminal, unless a signal for changing the connection state is generated,
Steps 102-104-107 for all terminals A, B, C
The loop of -114-115 is repeated and communication with other terminals is executed.

(G) Effects of the Embodiments According to the above embodiments, each terminal manages the connection status such as “connection”, “addition”, and “exit” with other terminals. Regardless of whether the instruction to change the connection status is given from the input device or from another terminal,
In addition, regardless of changes due to late participation or exit, or changes in connection status due to one-to-one connection or termination of communication, connection processing corresponding to the changed connection status can be performed for the changed terminal. it can.

Further, according to the above-described embodiment, the management of the connection state with each other terminal performed by each terminal manages the terminal already connected, the terminal which is going to make an additional connection, and the terminal which tries to leave the connection. Connected terminal management table 4 in which the number of terminals connected at that time is registered, as well as the identifiers of the above are registered in association with the connection states of “connected”, “added”, and “exit”. Since it is performed by using, it is very easy to manage, and the process that should initiate the connection state change can be clarified.

According to the above-mentioned embodiment, when each terminal designates the terminal of the connection partner by the input device of its own terminal, the identifier of the designated terminal is registered in the “addition” state in the connection terminal management table, When a connection request is sent to the relevant terminal due to a change in registration in the "addition" state and the terminal is connected to the line, the "addition" state is changed to the "connection" state.
The connection can be activated by the same process regardless of whether the instruction of the terminal of the connection partner is for one-to-one connection, halfway participation, or halfway participation request. When a line is connected to a terminal by this input activation, the connected terminal management table of the connected partner terminal is referenced, and there is a terminal identifier in the "connected" state that is not registered in the connected terminal management table of the own terminal. In this case, all the terminal identifiers are registered in the connected terminal management table of the own terminal in the “added” state, and the connection request is sent to each corresponding terminal due to the registration change in the “added” state. Thus, even if it is necessary to connect to a plurality of terminals, the user only has to point to a certain terminal, and the second and subsequent terminals are automatically connected in the same procedure.

According to the above embodiment, when each terminal receives a connection request from another terminal, it establishes a line with the terminal that has issued the connection request, and the terminal of the connection partner is connected to the connection terminal management table. In this case, the contents of the connection terminal management table in the communication state can be unified for all terminals. Further, even if the line is connected by a request from another terminal, the connected terminal management table of the connected partner terminal is referred to, and there is a terminal identifier in the “connected” state that is not registered in the connected terminal management table of the own terminal. In this case, all the terminal identifiers are registered in the connected terminal management table of the own terminal in the "added" state, and the connection request is sent to each corresponding terminal due to the registration change in the "added" state, so join halfway. It is possible to connect to a terminal other than the directly requested terminal automatically and by the same connection processing.

According to the above-mentioned embodiment, each terminal sends an end signal to all the terminals whose identifiers are stored in the connected terminal management table when the end of communication is instructed by the input device of its own terminal, Lines with all terminals can be terminated. If there is no connection terminal management table, it is necessary for the user to input terminals for terminating the line one by one, but this is not necessary in this embodiment.

Further, according to the above-mentioned embodiment, when the termination signal is received from another terminal, the connection state of the relevant terminal in the connection terminal management table of the own terminal is changed to “exit” and registration to the “exit” state is performed. Since the line with the corresponding terminal is terminated due to the change, the same processing can be performed at the termination of the one-to-one connection and the termination due to the midway exit. When the termination signal is received from another terminal and the line with the corresponding terminal is terminated, the termination terminal is deleted from the connection terminal management table and the number of connected terminals is checked. Continue communication with the remaining terminals registered in the connection terminal management table,
Since the communication is terminated when it is 0, it is possible to allow another terminal to leave the middle of the communication, and to perform continuous communication with the remaining terminal. It is also possible to prevent maintaining the communication mode.

(G) Other Embodiments In the above embodiment, the maximum number of connected terminals of the system is three.
Although the number of terminals is shown, it goes without saying that the number of terminals is not limited to this.

The configuration for managing the connection state is not limited to the table configuration shown in FIG. 5, and for example, a different memory unit is provided for each of the states of "connection", "addition", and "exit", and the memory unit is provided in the memory unit. The configuration may be such that the corresponding terminal ID is inserted.

[0077]

As described above, according to the present invention, in a multipoint connection method for connecting a plurality of terminals in a distributed connection mode, each terminal manages a connection state with another terminal, Since the connection process corresponding to the changed connection state is performed for other terminals whose managed connection state has changed, each terminal when the connected state is changed (join, leave, etc.) The processing at the terminal and the operation by the user can be simplified, and the connection state can be changed by general-purpose connection processing regardless of the connection request source.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of an embodiment method.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a multipoint connection form (No. 1: centralized type).

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a multipoint connection form (part 2: distributed type).

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional problem.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a connection terminal management table according to the embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing table changes in the one-to-one connection process of the embodiment.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a table change in the halfway participation process of the embodiment.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing a table change in the midway exit process of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing a table change in the halfway participation request process of the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

A, B, C ... Terminals, 4 ... Connection terminal management table, 41 ...
Number of connected terminals, 421 to 423 ... Terminal ID, 431 to 43
3 ... Connection status ("Connect", "Join", "Exit").

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Internal reference number FI Technical indication H04M 3/56 A

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A multipoint connection method for connecting a plurality of terminals in a distributed connection mode, allowing halfway participation and halfway exit, wherein each terminal manages and manages a connection state with another terminal. A multipoint connection method comprising performing connection processing corresponding to the changed connection state to another terminal whose connection state has changed. 2. Each of the terminals is provided with an identifier of a terminal that is already connected, a terminal that is going to make an additional connection, and a terminal that is going to leave the connection. A connection terminal management storage unit that registers the number of terminals connected at that time and is registered in association with the connection status of The multipoint connection method according to claim 1, wherein the multipoint connection is managed. 3. Each of the terminals, when an input device of its own terminal indicates a terminal of a connection partner, registers the identifier of the instructed terminal in the connection terminal management storage unit in the “addition” state, and “addition” is performed. When a connection request is sent to the relevant terminal due to a change in registration in the state, and the line is connected to the relevant terminal, the "additional" state is changed to the "connected" state and the connected terminal of the connected partner terminal If there is a terminal identifier in the "connected" state that is not registered in the connected terminal management storage portion of the own terminal, refer to the management storage unit, and manage all the connected terminal identifiers of the own terminal in the "added" state. 3. The multipoint connection method according to claim 2, wherein the connection request is transmitted to each corresponding terminal by registering in the storage unit and changing the registration in the "addition" state. 4. When each terminal receives a connection request from another terminal, it establishes a line with the terminal that has issued the connection request, and the connection partner terminal is in the “connected” state in the connection terminal management storage unit. When the line is connected to the corresponding terminal, the connected terminal management storage unit of the connected partner terminal is referred to, and the terminal identifier in the "connected" state not registered in the connected terminal management storage unit of the own terminal If any of the above exists, register all the terminal identifiers in the connected terminal management storage unit of the own terminal in the “added” state, and send a connection request to each corresponding terminal due to the registration change in the “added” state. The multipoint connection method according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that. 5. Each of the terminals transmits an end signal to all the terminals whose identifiers are stored in the connected terminal management storage unit when the end of communication is instructed by the input device of the terminal, and the terminals communicate with each other. The multipoint connection method according to claim 2, wherein the line is terminated. 6. When each terminal receives an end signal from another terminal, it changes the connection status of the corresponding terminal in the connected terminal management storage unit of the terminal to “exit”,
Due to the change in registration to the "exit" state, the line with the relevant terminal is terminated, the terminated terminal is deleted from the connected terminal management storage unit, the number of connected terminals is checked, and the connection is established when the number of connected terminals is greater than 1. The multipoint connection method according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the communication with the remaining terminals registered in the terminal management storage unit is continued, and the communication is terminated when it is 0.